Thanks for your excellent review of the 18-200 VR. This lens is the reason I switched to Nikon and bought a D50. I wanted a camera and lens combination that would be of modest weight and allow me to cover a focal range from wide angle to telephoto and which had stabilization. The 18-200 VR has more than meant my expectations. I also bought the Canon 500D 72 mm close-up lens that screws on like a filter and this works very well with the 18-200 VR. I have a user review which includes pictures taken with the Canon 500D at:

Yeah, all you reviewers out there forced me to invest my hard earned cash with this lens - but I don't regret it.
The tip with the canon (shudder!) close-up lens is nice! I asume it has a focal length of 500mm. And Franks point with the 18-200mm having its full 200 only if it's focussed near infinity gives this lens+close up combination some near-magical properties: giving a magnification of +50% even when staying at 50cm distance from the object of desire...

But all in all I assume the close-up lens does not give much more than an additional 1,5x magnification. Am I right, Frank?

Yeah, all you reviewers out there forced me to invest my hard earned cash with this lens - but I don't regret it.The tip with the canon (shudder!) close-up lens is nice! I asume it has a focal length of 500mm. And Franks point with the 18-200mm having its full 200 only if it's focussed near infinity gives this lens+close up combination some near-magical properties: giving a magnification of +50% even when staying at 50cm distance from the object of desire...

But all in all I assume the close-up lens does not give much more than an additional 1,5x magnification. Am I right, Frank?

Thanks for looking at my review of the 18-200 mm. I'm not sure what the magnification is with the Canon Close Up lens.. You gave me an idea though. Tomorrow I will modify my review to include comparison pictures take with the 18-200 mm with and with out the Canon Close-Up lens. Also, I will post comparison pictures taken with the 18-200 and Canon at different focus distances. I will post the link here again when I am done.

Good idea, Frank.
After checking for myself I'm a bit confused: In Gordon's macro test of the "naked" 18-200 he showed a max area of 52x35mm at 25cm.
I tried and tried and tried, but did not get better than 90x60mm from a distance of about 40 cm (from focal plane or 20cm from the front lens at 200mm).
Gordons value would lead to a 1:2.2 scale and that would even be better than the 1:2.5 that you measured with the close-up lens!!!
With my values the max scale of the naked lens would only be 1:3.8 and the 1:2.5 through the close-up lens would be an improvement of 50%.

So we need a little help here: either Gordon's lens has different properties (i.e. focussing closer), or Frank didn't find the "sweet spot" with the close-up lens, or my mathematics is a little rusty...

Thomas, how did you calculate the value for Gordon's test? I can't find anywhere where he indicates the size of his target custom chart.

Thomas wrote:

Good idea, Frank.After checking for myself I'm a bit confused: In Gordon's macro test of the "naked" 18-200 he showed a max area of 52x35mm at 25cm.I tried and tried and tried, but did not get better than 90x60mm from a distance of about 40 cm (from focal plane or 20cm from the front lens at 200mm).Gordons value would lead to a 1:2.2 scale and that would even be better than the 1:2.5 that you measured with the close-up lens!!!With my values the max scale of the naked lens would only be 1:3.8 and the 1:2.5 through the close-up lens would be an improvement of 50%.

So we need a little help here: either Gordon's lens has different properties (i.e. focussing closer), or Frank didn't find the "sweet spot" with the close-up lens, or my mathematics is a little rusty...

But Frank,
just point your 18-200 + close-up lens at a ruler, to see, how many millimeters fit across the width of your pic, divide by 23,6 and your done.
This should work even at home - no nice pics required...

Hi Frank, Hi Tombomba, my macro result with the Nikkor 18-200mm was taken at a focal length of 170mm from a distance of 25cm between the front of the lens and the target. Under these conditions, it delivered the result you see in the review, measuring 52x35mm.

This is the only Nikkor 18-200mm I've tested, so can't say whether it was a particular variation on this model or not.

Tombomba, could you try setting yours to 170mm and approaching a ruler until you literally cannot focus any closer. I hope you can achieve a similar area to my result.

Now it's getting interesting! My lens can definitely not get any closer, even at 170mm, neither automatically nor manually. So we are talking manufacturing differences or what (my lens was made in Thailand, serial no. 2578463). Unfortunately Nikon is not giving any figures with respect to the macro abilities of their standard lenses.

To be precise: the distance from the front lens is 22cm. Go any closer and the lens will not focus. What's interesting is that you get a smaller fov from 25cm than I get from even closer up. Sounds like your camera had a smaller sensor at the time of testing (just kidding!).

at http://nikonimaging.com/global/products ... /index.htm you can find the data from the horses mouth:
- Maximum reproduction ratio: 1/4.5
- Closest focusing distance: 0.5m (through the entire focal range)
So Frank B and I are lucky getting even closer (42cm) to the subject and getting a ratio of 1/3.9. And Gordon's lens could have been a preproduction sample or something "unlocked" to reach a better ratio.
Or Nikon found out later, that the picture quality at 1/2.2 does not fit their standards.
Or: Nikon just wants to sell more Nikkor micro 105/2,8 VR lenses.
Any more ideas on conspiration theory?

Me personally would have been happy compromising picture quality at better reproduction ratios, 'caus loosing a factor of 2 in close-up is equivalent of shooting with a 2.5 megapixel sensor!
So, Gordon, I'd love to swap my lens for yours...
And: let's collect some information about close-up lenses, extenders, and the famous 105/2,8 Nikkor micro...